A Shortcut to Mushrooms
by ParzivalHallows
Summary: "I was terrified of Mr. Maggot and his dogs. I avoided his farm for years and years. He caught me several times trespassing after mushrooms. On the last occasion he beat me and showed me to his dogs." The story behind the mushrooms beating.


"I was terrified of Mr. Maggot and his dogs. I avoided his farm for years and years. He caught me several times trespassing after mushrooms. On the last occasion he beat me and showed me to his dogs."

Frodo Baggins, a somewhat edited quote for the sake of the summary, chapter 4 of The Fellowship.

…

Frodo Baggins swore never to go back to Mr. Maggot's farm to steal mushrooms again. When he was twelve the dogs had scared him so bad that he had run out sobbing, that had been the first time Frodo had gone uninvited into Mr. Maggot's crops. This had been the year his parents died.

The second time he hadn't been caught by the dogs, but Mr. Maggot had spotted him and yelled through the circular window. This was when he was living with the Brandybucks, who were his only other family besides the Bagginses.

The third time he barely managed to escape the view of Mr. Maggot, and got almost enough mushrooms to fill a basket. Each time he would run home to the Brandybucks, and each time he got away clean.

The last time he went, he had been twenty-six. By that time he was living with his Uncle Bilbo Baggins, who adopted him at the age of 21. He had a splendid five years with Bilbo, but the sudden urge to get mushrooms had taken over.

After a long journey on foot (he didn't want Bilbo to expect something when he noticed his pony gone in the morning) it was nightfall. He knew that Bilbo had gone to sleep a short while after he left, so when he got back the next day, he could pretend he had been asleep the entire time.

He was finally there, and the smell of mushrooms was overpowering. Step by step he moved one hairy foot in front of the other quietly, for tonight would be a night he would feast on mushrooms!

He had barely made it past the gate when a sudden cry came from behind him. Frodo made a dash for it, but a cane wrapped around his ankle, tripping him. Dazed, he tried to get back up, but Mr. Maggot had other plans. He pushed him back on the ground and held him there with his long, hairy foot. Mr. Maggot was heavy even in hobbit standards. Frodo was leaner than most hobbits, and though he was almost fully grown, he was no match the much larger Mr. Maggot.

There was a sound like a crack as the cane moved through the air, but to Frodo the sound was ominous. In a matter of seconds his backside was stinging with unimaginable pain. He had been spanked on more than one occasion, but it was always with bare-hands. Over and over Mr. Maggot smacked his backside with his cane until it was bleeding. Then he flipped Frodo over and brought the cane to his stomach. It wasn't hard enough to break his ribs, for Mr. Maggot had slightly softened the blow, but it was definitely enough to bruise them. Frodo doubled over in pain on the ground, hugging his stomach as the wind was knocked out of him.

Then Mr. Maggot took the cane to the heel of his feet, instilling that it would be painful to walk. After a while of that, he lifted Frodo by the ear and dragged him over to the house, ignoring Frodo's weak murmurs of protest.

Frodo could hear growling, and his heart sped up. His eyes, which had been drooping shut, widened. He no longer felt the urge to curl up in a ball and die, like he had when Mr. Maggot was beating him. Rather he tried to struggle, but Mr. Maggot just chuckled. Mr. Maggot may have been amused, but Frodo felt as though he was being dragged to his death.

Mr. Maggot opened the gates. Growling could be heard inside, and Frodo spotted the shapes of many, large, beastly animals. One of them snapped at his face, but it didn't dare touch him without the order from Mr. Maggot.

"See, lads," Mr. Maggot said loudly, "next time this young varmint sets foot on my land, you can eat him. Now see him off!"

He let the dogs loose and Frodo made a run for it, which was made difficult by the agony his feet were going through. Not to mention that the rest of his body stung was well.

He could hear barking from behind him, and thought he also heard the heavy breathing of one behind his ear, but he just moved faster, hoping it was his imagination. He didn't know how long he had run for, or how early in the day it was, he just knew that when he reached the Ferry (the dogs turned away at a call from their master) it was already light out. He collapsed onto the ground, panting and shaking. His body hurt so bad, he didn't know if he would be able to make it home.

_Bilbo'll be awake by now, _he thought in a daze. He hoped Bilbo wouldn't worry too much about Frodo, seeing as Frodo was always going somewhere at any time of the day or night.

He felt the strong urge to just sleep, if only for a little while, but he knew that if he slept he could slip into unconsciousness, which would bode ill for everybody. With a loud groan, and his muscles all shrieking protests, Frodo got up slowly and started to trudge home. What was he going to tell Bilbo? His face felt warm, and when Frodo reached to touch his cheeks, he realized that he was crying. He wiped the tears away and hurried even faster.

Bilbo was waiting for him in the yard, a worried frown on his face. As soon as he saw Frodo he raced towards him and looked him over. He had yet to see any bruises, for they were all under Frodo's cloths. "Let's go inside," Bilbo said knowingly.

Once they got into the hole Bilbo started to undress Frodo, whose whole face had turned red and hot. Bilbo hissed when he saw the bruises on Frodo's stomach, and turned him around to see his backside. Frodo then showed him his feet, which were blistered, bruised, and bleeding. Bilbo hurried away to get herbs and leaves.

He wrapped up the soles of Frodo's feet and tried to help the bruises, but it did no good. Finally Bilbo had to admit defeat.

"Were you in Mr. Maggot's yard again?" out of everybody, Frodo had only told Bilbo of his adventures in Mr. Maggot's farm.

Frodo nodded, not willing to speak. Bilbo sighed, "did he do this to you?"

There was a slight hesitation in which Frodo nodded again. "I'm sorry Uncle," he said ashamedly. "I shouldn't have gone trespassing."

"Too right you shouldn't of," the words weren't harsh, but they did hold a slight threat. "Now, I don't believe you deserve a spanking, seeing as you've already gotten one," Bilbo said, sounding rather amused for a moment. Frodo shot him a glare, but Bilbo didn't notice it. "So I say the most we can do is to get you a nice bath and have you lie in bed for the rest of the week.

Frodo's eyes widened. Bedridden? For the whole week? This was possibly the worst punishment Bilbo could possibly have given the adventurous little hobbit. Bilbo seemed to know it too, for he hummed a merry tune as Frodo went to get a bath.


End file.
